The Father Is the Best Part
by missdallywinston
Summary: What if Spencer had named the actual Beach Hottie at Alison's second funeral? Alternate funeral scene to 3x18, Dead to Me. One Shot.


3x18 Alternate Funeral Scene

Aria stood alongside her two best friends, Emily and Hanna, at the entrance of the mausoleum. The only one missing was the noticeably absent Spencer Hastings. Not that the girls minded her absence or anything. She had been a little off her rocker for about a week now. They knew if she'd be here, that she would probably throw a tantrum anyway.

They all heard steps approaching, silently hoping it wasn't Spencer. With what she had said to Jason at the Brew about the planned grieving, they sort of didn't want her there.

"Sorry, I had to walk my parents out," Jason explained walking to the gang of girls. He quickly realized Spencer was gone, but shrugged it off.

Spencer gulped as she got off the freeway, heading to the crypt. After she found the lair, she did some snooping. About ninety-six percent of the lair was packed up and plastered at some new location, but that four percent that was left was enough for Spencer. Granted, it wasn't about Toby, but she had a feeling Toby might have left it for her to find.

Spencer flashbacked to pulling the air conditioning vent open and spying a closed shoebox. She knew immediately that the contents were anything but shoes, but she never expected what she found. Spencer had ripped the lid off and found a photo album, a keychain, a piece of notebook paper, and a seashell.

Seeing the sea shell, Spencer remembered Emily rambling on about Cape May and some Boardshorts guy. Emily thought Board Shorts was Toby, but the second Spencer opened up the photo album, she knew exactly who it was. Part of her, realizing who it was, wanted to puke all over the place and scream at the world, but the other part was twistedly happy. Spencer wouldn't be the only liar grieving anymore. She could bring one of her friends down to her low, low level.

She stopped flipping through the picture which contained pictures of Ali and a very familiar face wearing nothing but board shorts on a beach in Cape May. She briefly picked up the keychain, but it wasn't anything besides a seagull keychain, most likely from some souvenir shop. Spencer figured it was Board Shorts, not Ali's; Alison would die if she owned anything that tacky. Spencer unfolded the crumpled piece of notebook and smiled a sick smile while reading it.

B-26.

Spencer thought back to Aria saying something about how Ezra wrote her some lovey-dovey poem. Spencer would've never remembered the title – most of the time whem Aria blabbed about her love life with Ezra, she zoned out – but now that she was staring at it on the headline of a paper, Spencer knew what it was. That poem that Aria was so proud of wasn't even for or about her. No, it was meant for Alison.

She knew what all this meant. Wilden didn't get Alison pregnant. Ezra did. Wilden wasn't Boardshorts. Ezra, one of the few people left that they honestly trusted, was.

As Emily watched the door for Spencer, Aria paced back in forth. Hanna sighed, "So shall we just wait or…?"

"I'm pretty sure she's not coming," Jason answered, leading the girls further into the cold crypt.

Once they were in front of Ali's new place of resting, Aria read off the oh, so Ali quote engraved on it, "Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality,"

"That's creepy," Hanna blurted blatantly.

Aria replied to her friend, "It's Emily Dickinson."

"I don't care if it's Santa Claus, consider me creeped," Hanna shot back at Aria "teaching."

Jason shoved his hand further into his pockets. "It's okay. It is a touch creepy in here. My parents barely stayed two minutes."

Aria glanced around the odd atmosphere and noticed Emily, who was looking very mopey. "Hey, you okay?"

Before Emily could answer, everyone's attention turned to the loud sound of a door opening and angry footsteps pounding the ground towards them. The source was Spencer whose cheeks were tear stained and her hair looked worse than before.

"Spencer," Jason started, "you changed your mind."

Spencer was out of breath, "No. I just knew that I could find you here. I do have something to say to you."

The three girls interjected all at once, trying to stop what was about to spew from Spencer's tongue, "Spencer…"

"Ali was pregnant. When she died," Spencer stated, ignoring the mad glances from her friends.

Jason looked back and forth from Spencer to her friends, "What?! What is she talking about? Is this true?"

Spencer stopped the girls from answering, "We can't know for sure. Emily looked it up and an early pregnancy wouldn't have shown up in an autopsy. Isn't that right Em?" Emily just bit her tongue and shook her head, pissed off at what secret Spencer was letting free.

Hanna had had enough and scolded her friend, "You have no idea what you're saying right now!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Aria added in a calm voice, trying to keep in control.

Jason squinted his eyes at Spencer, "How do know about this? I mean who…"

"Who's the father?" Spencer cut him off. "Oh, that's the best part."

Jason stared down his half-sister. "Who, Spencer?"

"Spencer, don't," Hanna barked.

"I don't care!" Spencer screamed back.

Aria clenched her jaw, "Don't do this, Spencer. Not here."

Spencer let her gaze linger on Aria's a little while longer before turning back to Jason. She felt bad for Aria and what she was about to spill, but what else could happen? Might as well spill a secret if she was already diminishing a friendship.

"You might remember him, Jason. I believe you sat next to him at that dinner at the Montgomery's."

Aria's throat formed a gigantic lump and she was beyond confused. She kept quiet, though, because everyone else was.

"Ezra Fitz," Spencer answered. "Ezra is the father."

Aria would've laughed if the air wasn't so tense. Instead she went for an argument. "What the hell are you talking about?" Spencer stayed silent, so Aria continued. "And _where_ did you get this idea?"

"That is a sick thing to say, Spencer," Emily spat. "Just because you're hurting because of Toby, doesn't men you should drag down the people we love too."

Spencer let out a little giggle that eerily sounded like Alison's. "Oh, but it's true. He's the guy who was in Cape May. He's Board Shorts?"

"How?" Aria muttered. Spencer grabbed a few things from her pocket and thrust them at Aria. She quickly looked down at her hands and felt a wave of nausea. It was two pictures of Ezra and Alison on a beach and a piece of wrinkled notebook paper. Aria couldn't help but notice how big both Ezra and Ali's smiles were in the photograph. Aria didn't remember the last time, if he ever had, Ezra looked so happy with herself. Hanna and Emily looked over at the photo as well and immediately felt both their stomachs drop.

Spencer turned from her staring contest with Jason and told Aria to unfold the sheet of paper. Aria, in a sort of trance, obeyed. The second she read the headline, tears sprang to her eyes and she threw it on the ground before Emily and Hanna could see it too. Aria let out a sob and ran out of the indoor graveyard.

Aria ran out the doors and felt her heels sink into the grass. She let out a yell and a string of curse words while salty tears spilled from her eyes. Ezra was Board Shorts. Ezra was with Alison. Ezra got her pregnant. The man she trusted her life with, and who she was convinced was her soul mate, was nothing but a filthy liar. Aria could almost feel her world flipping upside down. What the hell just happened?


End file.
